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Since early Februrary, both the personal and business versions of the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card have been offering elevated sign-up bonuses of 80,000 points, but the business card now has an even higher offer. Currently, you can earn a whopping 100,000 Marriott Rewards points when you sign up for the Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card and spend $5,000 in the first three months. Read on for the offer details and an analysis of whether this offer makes sense for you.
The biggest draw here is the 100,000 points you’ll earn for meeting the spending requirement — a significant increase both over the standard offer of 50,000 points and the previous increased sign-up bonuses 80,000 points (with a lower minimum spend). Here are some additional features and requirements to note:
- Earn 5 points per dollar at over 4,000 participating Marriott locations worldwide.
- Earn 2 points per dollar on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline and at car rental agencies, restaurants, office supply stores and for internet, cable and phone services purchases.
- Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
- Receive an annual free night at a Category 1-5 property after your account anniversary.
- Earn Marriott Rewards Gold Elite status when you spend $50,000 on purchases each account year.
- Guaranteed Silver elite status, and receive 15 credits toward your next membership level after account approval and every year after your account anniversary.
- Receive 1 credit toward elite status for every $3,000 spent on purchases, with no limit to the number of credits you can earn.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Annual fee of $99.
Is It Worth It?
100,000 points is the highest offer we’ve ever seen on the Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card, but does that mean you should get it? TPG values Marriott Rewards points at 0.7 cents apiece, so this offer is worth about $700, but depending on how you use the points, you could get even more value from this bonus.
For example, you could book three nights at a Category 8 property like the St. Ermin’s Hotel, Autograph Collection in London for a total of 105,000 points (at a rate of 35,000 points per night when booked at the PointSavers level; you’d earn that extra 5,000 points by meeting the minimum spending requirement of $5,000) in late September, when rooms start at about 227 GBP ($331) per night. Since Marriott and Ritz-Carlton points are interchangeable, you could also use the sign-up bonus for a two-night stay at a Tier 4 Ritz-Carlton property like the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, at a rate of 50,000 points per night when booked at the PointSavers level, versus paying north of $600 per night. And don’t forget the annual free night at a Category 1-5 hotel; that alone can cancel out the $99 annual fee you’ll pay each year to hold this card.
Large sign-up bonus and annual free night aside, this card could be worth considering due to its new feature, which offers a fast track to Marriott Gold status when you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year. That’s a lot to shell out for a status that we value at $1,845, but it does come with some solid benefits like complimentary upgrades and a 25% points bonus on paid stays. Plus, it’s a cheaper option than working toward Gold status by earning 1 elite credit per $3,000 spent — that method would require you to spend $105,000 rather than $50,000.
Bottom Line
The current sign-up bonus for the Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card is a great opportunity to stock up on points, especially if you’re planning to travel during the peak summer season, when out-of-pocket rates can go through the roof. The new “path to Gold status” feature (which is exclusively available to business cardholders) could also be worthwhile, depending on your spending habits.
Just remember that, as a Chase-issued credit card, the Marriott Rewards Premier Business Card will only offer you a bonus if you haven’t received a sign-up offer for this same product in the last 24 months. If that’s the case and you still need more points to book a Marriott or Ritz-Carlton stay, remember that you transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and other cards to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio.
Source: thepointsguy.com